2004年10月份《美國X光學期刊》（the American Journal of Roentgenology）上報道的兩項研究證實：在CT（計算機X線斷層攝影術）引導下進行射頻消融術治療那些無法接受手術治療的肺癌患者，能夠有效地減輕他們的臨床癥狀，CT隨訪檢查還證實射頻消融術治療成功的改變了腫瘤大小。

在第一項研究中，意大利南Sebastiano醫院（S. Sebastiano Hospital，Caserta，Italy）的研究人員分析了33例惡性肺癌患者的資料，這些患者無法手術而是選擇了CT引導的射頻消融術進行治療。這些患者沒有發生重大的并發癥，經CT隨訪檢查看起來治療都比較成功。第一作者Guiseppe Belfiore醫學博士在論文中指出：“進行該項研究是臨床上迫切需要為肺癌常規治療尋找一種替代治療方法。我們看到太多的肺癌患者，由于各種原因他們無法進行手術治療，而能夠減輕癥狀的方法卻少之又少。而十分肯定的是，射頻消融術能夠有效改善無法手術治療患者的生命質量。”

在第二項研究中，韓國國立大學醫院（National University Hospital，Chonbuk，South Korea）的研究人員明確了腫瘤進展的模式：腫瘤與周圍組織的不同是，在判斷CT引導的射頻消融術治療肺癌時，腫瘤體積大小的改變是治療成功與否最重要的因素。他們分析了21例接受CT引導的射頻消融術患者的資料：其中9例接受完全消融術，12例接受部分消融術。研究者發現：在完全消融術組，短期CT隨訪發現腫瘤沒有任何進展的跡象，12個月之后腫瘤體積減小了40％；而在部分消融術組，短期內腫瘤均有不同程度進展，在6個月之后腫瘤體積增大。

RFA Eases Symptoms of Inoperable Lung Cancer

A pair of studies has shown that radiofrequency ablation (RFA), guided by computed tomography (CT), is effective in easing the symptoms of inoperable lung cancer, while changes in the size of the tumor as shown on CT determines whether that ablation was successful.

Researchers from S. Sebastiano Hospital (Caserta, Italy) analyzed 33 patients with malignant lung cancer who could not undergo surgery and opted for CT-guided RFA instead. No major complications occurred and all sessions were deemed successful at follow-up CT.

The study was prompted by the feeling that an alternative to the usual therapies for lung cancer was strongly needed. “We see too many lung cancer patients who, inoperable for a number of different reasons, are left with few chances to obtain an effective palliation,” noted lead author Guiseppe Belfiore, M.D. “For sure, RFA allows a better quality of life for many inoperable patients.”

In the second study, researchers from National University Hospital (Chonbuk, South Korea) determined that pattern enhancement--a difference in contrast between a tumor and the surrounding tissue--and changes in tumor size were the most important factors in judging the success of RFA for lung tumors on CT. They analyzed 21 patients who had undergone CT-guided RF, nine who had complete ablations and 12 who had partial ablations. For the former group, the researchers found tumors were without any enhancement on short-term follow-up CT and that the size of the lesions had decreased by 40% after 12 months. For the partially ablated group, the tumors were enhanced to various degrees short-term and the tumor size had increased after six months.

The studies were published in the October 2004 issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.